Evian move away from relegation zone with win

AP, EVIAN, France

Sun, Mar 02, 2014 - Page 19

Cedric Barbosa and Daniel Wass fired struggling Evian Thonon Gaillard to a 2-0 win over Nantes in the French Ligue 1 on Friday.

Veteran midfielder Barbosa chased a long ball over the top from Olivier Sorlin to score with a low diagonal strike in the 61st minute for his first goal this season.

Fullback Wass doubled the lead in the 78th by curling a free kick into the bottom corner.

Evian remained in 17th place, but moved five points clear of the relegation zone.

“The team was too tense in the first half, we lost too many balls,” Evian winger Pape Amodou Sougou told BeIn Sport television. “We fixed that in the second half, we played our game and made Nantes run after the ball.”

Evian earned their first victory this year to snap an 11-game winless streak in all competitions.

Nantes had the best chance in the first half when Alejandro Bedoya met a cross from Banel Nicolita in the 24th. The header from the American midfielder struck the bar before bouncing in front of the goal line.

Paris Saint-Germain hold a five-point lead at the top of the league and were to host Olympique de Marseille yesterday.

BUNDESLIGA

AP, BERLIN

SC Freiburg gained some hope in their battle against relegation from the Bundesliga by earning a 0-0 draw at Hertha BSC on Friday.

Hertha threatened early when Sami Allagui narrowly missed in the first minute.

The home side did not create any real chances until late in the uneventful game, when Adrian Ramos had two long-range shots barely tipped over by Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.

At the other end of the field, Hertha goalkeeper Thomas Kraft foiled three attempts by Admir Mehmedi.